


A Romance (Post-Calamity)

by FullOfCharm



Series: A Romance (Post-Calamity) [1]
Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Post-Canon, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-23
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-11-04 05:43:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17892596
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FullOfCharm/pseuds/FullOfCharm
Summary: I have always loved the ZeLink pairing, ever since i was very small, and I think BotW does one of the best jobs portraying that ship/dynamic. So, I thought it was a good one to use as a base for a good fic. This is post ending, of them sealing ganon, starting that night at Link's home. It is a slower story, more about how the two are going to deal with their lives and their relationship now that their duties are fulfilled and their kingdom is basically gone.Thank you for checking it out, and all feed back is appreciated!





	A Romance (Post-Calamity)

Black smog that has a mind of its own, choking, crawling down the throat and festering in the lungs. Anyone subject to it falls to their knees, with hands on throat, attempting to strangle it away, just for it to cease. Fighting the fog causes eyes to cry tears of blood and skin to separate from the muscle and bone. One-hundred years of that, in a cramped darkness that constantly threatened to crush anything within it, and it all turned out to be a nightmare. One that returned when slumber was attempted.  
She didn’t scream, she was strong enough to steal that weakness, but cold sweats and a frantic panic caused her to press herself against the wall the bed was parallel to. She tossed the covers away, as they threatened to engulf her. She shivered, despite the summer night’s air flowing in from the open windows. Moonlight came with the soothing winds, enough to beat away the darkness that would have only caused her to fall further into hysteria.  
It was her first night in a hundred years in a proper bed, her knight’s bed, and she couldn’t even feel safe enough to slumber. It didn’t take her long before she noticed her protector’s vacancy. She glared at the empty stool next to the night stand. Last she knew he was sitting right there, not three five away, his back against the wall and eyes down cast to the front door, occasionally glancing to make sure she was still. It was the only reason she was able to fall asleep in the first place. Now the only thing beside her was a single Silent Princess in bloom, within a simple glass vase on the nightstand.  
Kept under the vase was a piece of parchment. She stow’d her nervous shakes enough to crawl away from the wall and pluck the folded paper. Opening it she eased but felt her mind buzz. ‘Zelda, if you wake, do not worry, doing chores out front.’ That whole piece of paper for one sentence. It was enough though.  
Zelda cast the paper to the night stand and got to her feet. She eyed her white gown she had worn for the past hundred years, having been sloppily thrown on the desk chair. It wasn’t a garment she wanted to dawn again soon. Her knight’s apparel would do; she was already wearing his tunic as a nightgown, due to her lack of clothing options. She went barefoot, even those sandals feeling restrictive at this point.  
The home was lit well enough, in muted tones. She moved slow, still, holding herself in her arms. She scanned the place to keep her mind occupied. The short bookshelf was impressively stocked, for her knight that is, and the pictures atop it gave her pause for each. Photos the knight had taken during his journey, many were of new friends he had made, the four new champions, all people Zelda felt excitement swelling to meet but also twinges of jealousy for the photo’s existence. Her eyes found the largest picture, one adorned on the wall, next to the window. It halted what few steps she had taken and captured her. A hundred years past, and all but her and her knight killed. It didn’t send a shiver down her spine, but a slithering up it.  
Her breath turned shaky, had she always been so easily frightened by the dead? What happened to the will and confidence, the composure she held when first released from the Calamity, reunited with her knight? Her eyes locked with the unblinking bewildered gaze of her knight in the photo.  
She picked up again, her pace faster. She trotted down the stairs, landing on the first floor ready to sprint out the door but was slowed by the numerous weapons hung upon the walls. Glowing spears, ornate shields, and peculiar instruments all showed her knight’s odd aesthetic tastes. Then she looked back to the wall below the lofted bed area, that wall had the traditional Hylian Shield, the Master Sword’s sheath behind it, but no Blade of Evil’s Bane.  
Her knight had his weapon, instead of alarming her this caused a small smile. Thoughts of watching him practice, swiping at nothing gave her courage enough to make it to the front door. What kept her from pushing it open was the pang of a particular memory.  
It was a memory she oft regretted making. It was raining that day, as she pondered her life and her knight’s, as he practiced before her. She posed an inquiry to her knight that was more meant for herself, but felt after that she had insulted him. That was when they had just begun to be comfortable around each other, or when she began to be. And now, she found herself needing to be near her appointed one just to feel comfortable at all.  
She nudged the door open.  
Her knight stood next to the campfire that was always burning beside his home. Long thick logs of wood spilled near the scene. He set one up and lifted the Master Sword, the Blade of Evil’s Bane, and struck the logs to make more suitable sizes for fires.  
Zelda stood in the doorway, flabbergasted at the sight of her royally appointed knight using the ancient holy weapon of Goddess’ design as little more than a lumber axe. “Link!” She called out with a twinge of announce. The cry caused him to crane his neck, looking her way as he stabbed that blade into the earth to gather the smaller kindling in his arms. His wide grin washed away what little anger she had.  
He quickly jogged to his lumber cache along the side of the house, stacking it nicely enough. Zelda motioned to the corner, eyeing a bizarrely gargantuan hammer for Link’s stature. “You left me.” Zelda peaked around, peering at Link’s form.  
Quickly finishing the stack, Link looked to his princess, his eyes slightly widened. He bowed harshly, apologizing.  
“Oh, um, no, I apologize.” Zelda averted her gaze, guilty for how the exchange could be taken. “You didn’t leave me…”  
She kept her eyes on the campfire, gently blazing, since it was the best thing to focus on to keep herself from facing Link’s reaction to her quick tongue. Link himself kept a low bow, himself unable to find the words, especially now. They let that silence hang, and held their bodies stiff. If this wasn’t like the first time they met all those years ago… Then again, this was a sort of new first meeting wasn’t it?  
Zelda softened, but let her mind grow grim, “You never properly answered.” Zelda slowly turned her head back, training her eyes on Link. Link rose again, and matched her gaze. “Do you remember me?”  
Link sighed, Zelda assuming, in defeat. She readied herself for the worst answer. “It is all still… fragmented.” Link spoke in almost a whisper. Zelda swallowed hard, forcing away tears.  
“Please, Link, don’t feel guilty.” Zelda took a step forward, but Link took a step back. When they faced Calamity Ganon they were strong, now they both could only muster meek postures. Facing each other, facing the past, seemed far greater a calamity. “I wish for us to…” Zelda stretched out her hand toward her knight. “I wish for us to be as we were.” Her arm was straight but her hand was limp before her. “And, if that is too hard at the moment, we can begin again.” She held back the hiccups and stutters that followed crying, just as she did the tears by forcing her eyes shut. They shot open as she felt the knuckles of her fingers press against skin and brush hair.  
“I will always be your appointed knight.” The voice was solemn, low to the ground. Link had taken a knee and held her hand to his forehead. He faced the ground, eyes closed.  
“I would like you to be more than that, Link.” Zelda lowered herself to match him. Easily, she pushed her hand past his head and pulled him into a hug. “I am a princess of nothing now, anyways.”  
Link did not return her embrace, his mind on all those long deceased in the ruined castle. A broken kingdom with no king. Link was a knight of nothing, and has been for quite some time. “Then,” His arms finally wrapped around her body, just as she couldn’t fight back the tears any longer. “I will be your appointed knight of nothing.” Finally, with his princess, he began to weep in silence.


End file.
